ON BOARD EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

On Board Experiential (OBE) is an award-winning, full-service, experience-led agency that creates meaningful brand experiences worldwide. We work out of our homes and physical offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and NYC, or wherever our adventures take us! Our clients include Nike, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, Cheez-It, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, and SEPHORA, to name a few. We know, "Cool, cool, but what’s it like to work at OBE?" We thought you'd never ask. Event Marketer has recognized OBE as one of the best places to work in events and well, we couldn't agree more.

The most important part of our business is our people. They are hardworking, brave and make magic happen on the regular. But under each majestic exterior is a human deserving of a healthy work-life balance. That’s why we believe in recovery days, happy hours, friendly but competitive fitness challenges and company offsites.

We conduct open meetings to facilitate discussions that heal, inspire, and bring us closer. We encourage each other to bring our whole selves to work. We want to hear about your lived experiences and unique perspectives. We don't just want you to be unapologetically you: it's part of the job description.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

We are looking for an inspirational Design Director, Environmental to lead our team in producing premium and award-winning integrated marketing campaigns for our A-list of clients. As Design Director, Environmental, you will complete projects from briefing stage through execution.   

The Design Director, Environmental is a critical component in the generation of experiential and content related concept development, exceptional designs, spatial planning, and presentation design for a range of marketing projects. This consists of driving the design process, integrating with strategists and designers from within the Creative team, and collaborating with internal cross-functional teams, and external partners, to ensure client needs are being met with premium design ideas and creative solutions. They will thrive in a high-pressure, constantly changing, fast-paced environment managing multiple projects and tight timelines and inspire designers to create killer creative solutions for our clients.  

As a seasoned design professional, this talented leader also helps mentor and grow the design team. They are constantly seeking ways to elevate the work and foster healthy growth for the agency. 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

LEAD + DIRECT:   

• Present innovative and effective solutions internally and  externally, consistently elevating the work.  
• Manage the execution of design deliverables from concept to completion. Coordinate creative projects and designers  while streamlining the workflow and creative process. Resolve points of friction in the process to ensure success.  
• Encourage the creation of successful designs and push for excellent Art Direction to meet the needs of experiential projects within given timeframes.   
• Conduct design research and present it to the team to ensure informed and relevant design work is created. Understand brand differentiation, cultural appropriation vs appreciation, and overall avenues to create visual authenticity as related to stock imagery, iconography, illustration, and other visual systems.   
• Take ownership with key accounts to become an expert in that brand and help build teams that maintain and elevate quality design work overtime. Collaborate with the account team and clients directly to build trust and grow relationships that add business value.   
• Seek to expand scopes (and profitability) on key accounts by pitching in excellent solutions that are relevant to clients’ needs and prove business value.   
• Manage assigned interns, junior, and senior designers, freelancers or other short or long-term talent as discussed with supervisor. Continue to develop management skills and be a champion for the Creative Department.  

DESIGN:  

• Lead by example. Work directly on the environmental design development and execution of 3-D (spatial / rendering) and 2-D (graphic) designs.   
• Generate top notch designs across existing and emerging experiential platforms including: events, mobile marketing tours, product launches, press events, retail, social campaigns, tech conferences, sporting events, PR stunts, online content or campaigns, and a wide variety of other brand touch-points.  
• Be a subject matter expert in all things environmental design and uplevel technical skills to help expand and improve the work. Guide diverse types of experiences and campaigns with excellence.  

QUALITY CONTROL:   

• Understand client brands and adhere to guidelines/requirements within design suggestions and executions.  
• Execute the design of creative concepts and assure sound mechanical thinking, efficient production and safety. Work with engineers or fabricators to confirm build drawings as needed.   
• Work with in-house producers and vendors to maintain quality of design through execution and installation.   

COMMUNICATE:   

• Effectively apply feedback to personal design executions with attention to detail.   
• Translate feedback from internal and external partners (clients, vendors) to designers and ensure updates meet the needs and evolve the work. 

TEAM:   

• Work with creative senior leaders and OBE Leadership to help evolve the design team and agency offering. Consistently make informed recommendations on best practices, processes, and new capabilities to grow and maintain the team and business. 
• Participate in interviews and onboarding for new hires and freelancers.   
• Manage direct reports as assigned and foster their growth through consistent support, mentoring, skill sharing, goal setting and reviews.   
• Help coordinate hardware and software needs for the design team to ensure the team has the tools they need to succeed. Seek approval for new tools that will elevate the work as relevant. 

INSPIRE:   

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of current trends within the experiential industry and consumer marketing design ideas. Move the needle withinnovative design ideas.   
• Collaborate with other Design Directors to guide monthly inspiration and training sessions for designers.   

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

REQUIRED:  Bachelor's Degree in 3-D Design or related field (Interior Design, Architecture, Industrial design, Exhibition Design, Environmental Design, etc.)  

Master's Degree in relevant field a plus.  

EXPERIENCE

• 7-10 years of experience in design in an agency or brand setting managing projects and creative staff.   
• Strong portfolio of experiential marketing design projects or work in related fields (entertainment, set design, exhibition design, tradeshows, interior design, staging, etc.).

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• 3D technical design expertise including ability to create floor plans, renderings, construction drawings, etc. within Rhino, Cinema 4D, and/or SketchUp. Bonus points for Unreal Engine or Twinmotion.  3D Studio MAX or Blender would also be considered. 
• 2D technical design knowledge including Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Keynote, Powerpoint, Google Docs / Slides, etc required.   
• Passion for emerging trends as applied to design for experiential marketing. Experience with printers, fabricators, installers, technical directors, lighting designers, A/V vendors, and other event professionals.   
• An ability to promote and inspire a culture of creativity and design innovation with a finger on the pulse of what’s new and possible in various design fields. 

OTHER QUALITIES AND SKILLS

• Natural curiosity—the drive to always be learning and growing, professionally and personally. 
• High energy and flexibility in working non-traditional hours as needed (some nights and weekends as deadlines dictate). 
• Willingness to work a hybrid schedule of at least 2 days in office (up to 4 days as needed) and travel up to 25% of the time.

Compensation Range: $125,000 - $180,000 annually. This is the pay range OBE believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on level of experience, relevant skills, professional certifications, market pay, and demand for the role. OBE reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. For this role, Benefits include: medical/dental/vision insurance, employer paid basic life and personal accident insurance. Also included: Annual Profit Sharing/Bonus Plan based on the company’s performance and your individual performance, 401(k), Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, PTO, STD/LTD insurance benefits.

On Board Experiential is An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age or any other federally protected class.